Groping like other brands to get handle on how to structure efficient social media marketing campaigns, Talking Rain is claiming some strong gains from key summer effort, dubbed Flavor Face Off.

Flavor Face Off (#SparklingICEcontest) invited consumers to declare their flavor preference, with winner getting flown out to co's Preston, Wash, hq for photo shoot so pic could go on labels of half-mil cases of Ice. A year's supply of Ice also was in kitty for winner, who proved to be 21-year-old college student in Fla. Fans displayed varying degrees of moxie and inventiveness in their submissions, posing their preferred flavor with shades-wearing dog in one catchy case posted on Ice Web site, or in clutch of hand whose fingernails were painted in same pink-and-green shade as Strawberry Watermelon flave.

Devised with Dallas-based agency Javelin, Face Off got word out via powerful social media followings of Ice endorsers Kevin Durant, of NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, and Robinson Cano, of local baseball team Seattle Mariners, as well as brand's own avid fans, Talking Rain ceo Kevin Klock told BBI. By time dust settled, contest had drawn 48,500 participants and helped raise brand's Twitter following by 49%, Instagram by 37%. Facebook also grew but at slower rate. And it was clear from perusing pics posted by consumers, Kevin said, that brand is reaching uncommonly broad demo, all ethnic groups from all corners of country, many of them skewing reassuringly younger. "Looked like Americana," he declared. He notches successful contest as another small step toward mastering increasingly vital marketing discipline. With more experience under their belts, "all the beverage companies are getting more astute in dealing with the digital space," he believes.

Activity comes as brand continues to grow by double-digits, tho Klock still laments what he claims is inadequate shelf space devoted to brand, at time shelves and displays are "clogged up" with lower-velocity brands. Knockoffs like Fruitwater (from Coca-Cola) and Cascade Ice often receive equal retail space, even tho their annual sales come in at $40 mil and $20 mil, respectively, vs Sparkling Ice's $400 mil. Yet Ice handily outsells them even when they go out at 2 for $1. So that retail presence "makes no freaking sense," he groused. Klock allowed that National Beverage's LaCroix brand, going direct to retailers with unsweetened flavored waters, ranks as one lower-priced irritant that's hard to counter, but he noted that, in eschewing DSD, brand can muster only limited retail presence.

Taking longer-term perspective, Klock views these incursions as "natural cycle that's got to play out." But Talking Rain, currently planning its 2016 sales and marketing activities, also will bring "bigger, broader, deeper campaigns" next year. "We're out building a brand; everyone else is price," he said. Meanwhile, with core line at 90% ACV in food/mass, co is working to build its tea and lemonade sublines beyond current 60% while seeding its new cans. With Durant having suffered truncated season last spring due to foot injury, his return to court this fall should also offer a lift. And Talking Rain continues to peruse bev landscape for acquisition candidates that it might be able to bring to its DSD network, tho soaring valuations are a hindrance.

Average prices for CSDs rose 5.5% in 4 wks thru Aug 22 in Nielsen all-channel data, reported by Morgan Stanley's Dara Mohsenian. That matched avg price gain over previous 12 wks. CSD volume sagged 2.6% last 4 wks vs 3.1% decline for 12 wks. Volume on regular CSDs dipped just 0.9% while diet brands dropped 7% last 4 wks. Coca-Cola CSD volume trends worsened to -6.2% last 4 wks as avg price edged up to +5.1%. PepsiCo CSD volume decline slowed from -4.6% previous 12 wks to -2.8% for 4 wks as avg price increases came down a bit to +2.8% avg. Dr Pepper Snapple volume (-1.1%) and pricing (+3.5%) last 4 wks remained in line with 12-wk trends. Avg price on private-label brands was up 4% on 2.6% price drop.

Monster, Rockstar Continue to Outperform Energy drink volume surged 9.3% in all-channel data over last 4 wks on avg 1.2% price hike. Those trends were similar to category trends over last 12 wks. Red Bull slowed to 4% gain (vs +5.2% for 12 wks) while avg pricing remained relatively unchanged at +4.7%. Monster volume trends improved to +11.8% (up from 10.8% for 12 wks) on small (-0.9%) avg price drop. Rockstar rolled up 21.8% gain last 4 wks even as avg prices swung from slight decline previous 12 wks to 4% increase last 4 wks. PepsiCo (Amp) volume rose 3.3% despite avg 8.2% price increase last 4 wks. Regarding what it still IDs as Coca-Cola brands despite recent transition to Monster Beverage ownership, Nielsen reported volume as down 7.6% despite avg 8% price drop.

Sports Drinks Rise Double Digits Sports drinks volume gains accelerated from +7.1% previous 12 wks to 13.1% gain last 4 wks as avg price hikes eased a bit to avg of +0.5%. Gatorade volume trends improved to +11.4% (vs +7% for 12 wks) with avg price increase of 1.6%. Powerade avg price drop of 2.8% last 4 wks helped boost volume to +18.3% gain, up from 7.2% increase previous 12 wks. Private-label sports drinks improved from 1% gain for 12 wks to 6.5% gain last 4 wks as avg price increases were just 0.3%.

Price Drop Lifts KO Water Volume Bottled water volume gains accelerated to +12.4% last 4 wks with flat pricing in all-channel data. Nestle volume rose 6.8% (up from +1.6% for 12 wks) on 1.1% price increase. An avg 2.8% price drop helped lift Coca-Cola water to 15.1% gain last 4 wks, a big bump over 5% gain previous 12 wks. PepsiCo waters still up double-digits: +17.1% on avg 1.6% price drop for 4 wks. Private-label water volume (+14%) and pricing (-0.8%) last 4 wks was in line with its 12-wk trend. So brisk demand is raising all boats, branded and private-label.  

Making good on its plan to segue its Xyience energy drink from mixed martial arts as core platform to college football, Big Red Ltd has concluded deal with ESPN and made deal to bring in College Game Day sportscaster Samantha Ponder as new face of brand. New strategy will kick off via such activities as tongue-in-cheek TV spot breaking around Labor Day that positions Ponder at c-store energy door, where she approaches bland, 30-ish shopper who's just grabbed a Xyience with "Great snag there, Alex" and ratchets up his intensity until he's intoning, "Gonna take it all the way, baby - whooh!" "Great taste, zero calories," summarizes voiceover.

Tho Austin-based Big Red is still working out final details, TV buy will key in on markets where brand currently boasts strong, committed distribution like Portland/Seattle, Phoenix, LA, Austin and Baltimore/Washington. Also in pending mix: contest running thru fall that offers consumers chance to mingle with Ponder at national championship game. And brand has contracted with Tailgate Tour to activate 15 or so tailgate events at major games involving likes of Tex, Michigan, Ohio State and LSU.

The move cements radical change in direction under its new ownership for canned energy line that was once owned by Fertitta bros, who tied it to another of their properties, Ultimate Fighting Championship MMA. The former Samantha Steele, who's married to Oakland Raiders' Christian Ponder, is entering her 4th season on College Game Day, after earlier having worked on ESPN-owned Longhorn Network serving Univ of Texas in Austin, where Big Red is based. (She's based in SF now.) She just stepped down from sideline role on Thurs night football broadcasts in order to spend more time with husband and young daughter Bowden (named after Fla State coach Bobby Bowden).

Big Red svp marketing Thomas Oh said all Game Day personalities carry great equity that could help reposition brand, but that Ponder in particular is great fit as a female with legion of under-25 male followers. As all-natural, zero-calorie brand, Xyience would seem to boast considerably higher proportion of female consumers than conventional energy plays like Red Bull and Monster. And with millennial consumers age 27-37 now entering their child-rearing years, a young mom like Ponder, now 29, should particularly resonate, he added. In meetings with distributors, he said, Ponder was disarmingly candid in confessing that she used to get energy lift from sugary lattes before upgrading to Xyience.

As reported (BBI, Jun 15), Big Red's acquisition of Xyience shed brand's expensive UFC tie, as well as unwieldy Xyience Xenergy name (adopted years ago to distinguish canned energy line from co's supplements). Co also abandoned tea and lemonade sublines. But co retained silver-hued can and flavor range, tho one that was dropped, Melon Mayhem, is now back after consumer reaction, and Raspberry Lemonade has been dropped. Brand will be priced a "notch below" leaders like Red Bull and Monster, not at extreme discounts that were sometimes seen under prior mgmt team.

Tho UFC was expensive property, shift was fundamentally driven by fact that it was "polarizing to retailers and distributors," Oh said, and Xyience's zero-calorie formulation made brand of interest to broader range of consumers than just extreme sports and motor sports fans. Research undertaken by Big Red indicated that consumers wanted great taste and efficacy at top of list, but brand's affiliations with UFC and sponsored fighters came in last. Among Xyience users, the research showed, only 18% rated the UFC connection as important to them. Conclusion: no reason even to sponsor another fighter, let alone UFC itself. For its part UFC had no trouble recruiting deep-pocketed Monster Energy brand as new exclusive energy drink to succeed Xyience.

Meanwhile, 1-pager circulated among prospective wholesalers that pointed to ESPN and college football as new platform brought distribution opportunities rolling in, Oh said, confirming new direction. Next question was what strategy made sense: selecting less-expensive regional commitments like Pac 10, or ESPN as a whole. Pieces came together to forge broader alliance that can support brand's national ambitions.  

Miami Bay Beverage, marketer in Branford, Conn, that's been pushing Trimino protein-infused water, has brought aboard an old Coke hand to spearhead Northeast expansion. Coming in as vp operations for Northeast is Paul LeBlanc, who'd earlier held range of assignments both at Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Enterprises, some of them in New England region, and will focus on "developing the organization and its footprint with distribution and retail partners in the Northeast." He'll report to founder/ceo Peter Dacey. LeBlanc was recruited by MBB's advisor, InterContinental Beverage Capital . . . LA-based Califia Farms continues to build out its org structure, recruiting Dan Mader to serve as svp sales reporting to ceo Greg Steltenpohl. Dan had spent prior 8 years at natural foods play Annie's Inc, which IPOed in 2012 and was acquired by General Mills this year. He'd also worked at Clorox, Cadbury-Schweppes and the Calif wineries Kendall-Jackson and Gallo . . . San Diego-based HPP juice marketer Suja Life has recruited Sunsweet Growers vet Steve Wildman to serve as dir of mfg, reporting to coo Kurt Cahill.  

Count Target among the latest eatery operators to move to steer its customers to more healthful fare. Mass merchandiser in Oct will swap out current hotdog and nacho offerings at 14 stores in favor of installing Freshii units in 9 stores, Pizza Huts in 3 more stores and local fave D'Amico & Sons at pair of stores in retailer's hq city of Minneapolis. Expanded offerings will include likes of artisan-style pizza, fresh salads with ingredients like kale and edamame, and pressed juices with beet and carrot, USA Today noted. Move is in synch with efforts by Target ceo Brian Cornell, who's been in place a year now, to dial up natural/organic foods and local brands . . . JW Smucker said its US Retail Coffee segment surged 12% to $565 mil thanks to launch of Dunkin' Donuts-branded K-Cup pods and higher price realization from Folgers brand following reduction in promo activities and higher prices, which were enough to offset decline in volume. A 13% profit boost to $155.1 mil reflected price boost's offsetting of green coffee cost increases.

What's the shelf life of a well-constructed promo? Honest Tea has been putting that to test for 6 years now with its Honest Cities platform, finding enduring media fascination with its not-quite-empirical social experiment in financial honesty.

Tho co has made a few modest tweaks to program to keep it fresher in the years since its kickoff, its essence hasn't changed: leave displays of unattended bottled teas in public places, then measure how many by-now-not-quite-so-unsuspecting passersby prove willing to drop a buck in the bucket to pay for their refreshment. Dan Forman, pr honcho for Honest Tea, said stunt went to 27 cities this year, where it drew nearly 5K shoppers, of whom an estimated 94% paid for their tea, with the proceeds donated to better-eating proselytizer FoodCorps. Women edged out men in honesty, 95% to 93%, and Atlanta (hq of Honest Tea's parent, Coke) scored 100% honesty while Providence, Tampa and Boston came in at bottom of heap (prevalence of Red Sox fans may have been factor in 2 of those, BBI hypothesizes). One passerby in Providence paid for "purchase" with fake million-dollar bill, which presumably was not passed along to FoodCorps. Among statistical nuggets thrown as bait to media, bald individuals proved relatively dishonest at 91% compared to those with hairs of various hues.

With 3-week promo having only ended on Aug 10, media tally is not complete yet, but national hits were scored on Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, USA Today, Fox & Friends and Bloomberg Radio, while 40+ markets and counting covered it on regional basis, Dan noted. Those included Washington Post, 1010Wins and WTOP (DC). "We're obviously very excited about the outpouring of support from the media 6 years into this experiment," Forman enthused. And in new twist, "We're also starting to see lots of people post authentic, unfiltered #RefreshinglyHonest moments on Twitter and Instagram. It really seems the experiment has captured people's imagination once again." Results can be found at NationalHonestyIndex.com.  

Clermont, Fla-based Uncle Matt's Organic has commenced shipment of its new probiotically enhanced organic OJ, Orange Turmeric and Reduced-Calorie Orange Coconut. Both sku's contain Ganeden's BC30, which contains over 1 bil CFUs per 8-oz serving. "These new blends take the American staple of orange juice and add a functional boost," said ceo/founder Matt McLean. "We found great partners for these new juices in MegaFood's high-quality organic turmeric and Ganeden's patented probiotic." Packed in 59-oz bottles, the juices come in at 70 calories per serving . . . Chia-bev pioneer Mamma Chia has entered greens segment with 4-flavor Mamma Chia Organic Chia & Greens. Priced at $2.99, each contains veggies such as kale, spinach, broccoli, spirulina, barley grass and wheatgrass, along with 2,500 mg of Omega-3s, 7 g of fiber and 4 g of protein. Initial flavor range is Soulful Greens (cayenne and lemon), Love Greens (beets and ginger), Grateful Greens (kale and mint) and Joyful Greens (ginger and lemongrass). Extension is hitting such retailers as Safeway and Whole Foods, Carlsbad, Calif-based co said.

Icelandic Glacial bottled water has entered all stores of Vons grocery chain and its higher-end Pavilions banner, as LA-based co builds staff and prepares to offer its first glass bottles. The Safeway-owned chain is being serviced by brand's network of Anheuser-Busch distributors, said N Amer ceo Reza Mirza. Brand is making headway on other fronts too: it's now in 3 of 6 divisions of QuikTrip gas stores in heartland/Southwest, and has been mandated at all HMS Host airport locations, including tabletop presence at sitdown dining areas. Among current priorities, brand's new multipacks are starting to flow into first retailers, whom Reza declined to ID until packages are on-shelf, and it's working with new NY partner Dora's Naturals to get brand into ubiquitous Duane Reade drug chain. Co's new glass bottles should hit street on Oct 1, Mirza said, with retailers currently evaluatiing both packs and sparkling iteration, Icelandic's first, before making decision . . . Filling in another heartland distribution void, Celsius Holdings said it's signed deal with A-B house Eagle Distributing in Nebraska, which will work to bring calorie-burning bev to key retail accounts like Hy-Vee and Fareway . . . Uliv Java, the Martha-Stewart-branded functional coffee, now can claim presence in western part of US with addition of 264 Safeway and Vons stores in Southern Calif and Ariz, which are serviced by co's West Coast rep, F&M Merchant Group.  

Austin-based cold-brewed coffee marketer Kohana has gone back to basics with its canned line by adding Volcanic Black flavor that eschews both sugar and dairy. New flavor, to be on view at Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore next month, joins 4-flavor line that's included a lightly sweetened, nondairy Black entry but none that avoid sugar entirely. "Smooth, clean, unobtrusive" is how sales dir Nate Creasey termed flavor, saying in early days it's trending to being #2 sku behind Tahitian Vanilla. With consumers flocking to unsweetened concentrates, including Kohana's own, at retail, "you've got to have a straight-up" version, he said.

Burgeoning segment is attracting increasing consumer attention for lack of bitterness that comes of avoiding heat in processing, benefit that can be obscured with dairy and sugar. Austin rival of Kohana, High Brew, with its own shelf-stable canned line, earlier moved to add a nondairy sku, Black & Bold, to its own lineup, tho that item does contain some sugar.

Like other coldbrew players, including Stumptown and Chameleon (also Austin-based), Kohana has been aggressively broadening its retail availability, at time Starbucks has lent its imprimatur to segment with its in-store-brewed line. By now Kohana has enlisted such broadliners as UNFI, KeHe and DPI to cause, and entered retailers like Ralphs in Southern Calif, with Fresh & Easy and Gelson's following in its wake, as well as HEB in Tex (both cans and concentrates). It's staffed up accordingly, bringing on natural-products vet Joe Browne as vp sales to manage expansion. (Joe earlier worked at Mountain Sun Organic Juice and Seventh Generation). So far, co has stayed away from DSD distribution, and Nate acknowledged that Northeast region remains key void. Co is also managing its restaurant accounts directly as haute chefs find roles for brand in everything from marinades to panna cotta, as at Austin's Uchi Japanese-style restaurant. Kohana continues to maintain integrated approach, sourcing all its coffee from same Honduras co-op for roasting and use in concentrates and canned line. Brand recently made Inc mag's list of fastest-growing private cos, with revenue pegged at $5.2 mil.

Wall St Jnl profile this week offered belated confirmation of BBI report (BBI, Jul 14) that AriZona Iced Tea has managed to definitively put long-running dispute between cofounders Don Vultaggio and John Ferolito behind it, with operating partner Vultaggio successfully buying out his ex-partner's share while retaining operating control of co. Up until now, AriZona execs and their attorney had steadfastly declined to comment on matter. Like BBI, WSJ was unable to offer any details on how Don accomplished this, only quoting Vultaggio as saying "he has gotten bank financing to buy out Mr Ferolito's half of the Woodbury, NY, company." Co valuation determined by court has been sealed but is estimated in $2 bil range, meaning Vultaggio would have needed to get $1 bil or so to Ferolito to make him go away.

WSJ piece details plan by AriZona to double size of mfg plant in Maplewood, NJ, and step up push into beer via Crazy Cowboy brand and others to point where it approaches 25% of biz by 2020, up from current 2%. Co is now producing in Colombia and pursuing overseas opportunities in other markets like Africa and Asia. For first time it has hedged its aluminum costs. A few of other assertions in story seem debatable, tho. One is that legal battle scared away potential acquirers like Coke, Tata and Nestle; it seems pretty clear that escalating legal battle by Ferolito was result of Vultaggio's disinclination to seriously pursue such deals, which entrepreneur felt would have offered exit to partner at cost of undermining co's inventiveness and free-wheeling culture. And while ongoing fight - "which generated 1,000 affidavits and nearly $200 million in estimated legal fees" - undoubtedly was distraction, it can't shoulder entire blame for co's failure to make much noise on new-product front. Battle hasn't hindered co from launching scores of new items in recent years, tho most have failed to make sizable dent. Still, Don promised step-up in efforts. "Now we've got all this time to do great things,'' he told Jnl. As for that finally concluded battle, that was "a decade of waste and foolishness," he said.